Governor



May 14, 1940. A R TH MAS v 2,200,459

GOVERNOR Original Filed Aug. 1e, 19s7 s Sheets-Shetl J Bnventor 6 A 7 m4 Qwwvllo attorney;

May 14, 1940. THOMAS 2,260,459

GOVERNOR Original Filed Aug. 16, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 MIL 44 Ihwcntor/7 Gtforneg} May 14, 1940. A. P. THOMAS 2,200,459

GOVERNOR I Original Filed Aug. 16, 1937 a Sheets-Sheet s i. n Tm 1 34afgvcntor 5 pwm g Gttorn egf Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE Timken Roller Bearing Company,

Canton,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application August 16, 1937, SerialNo. 159,315, now Patent No. 2,153,125, dated April Divided and thisapplication Novembet 2, 1938, Serial No. 238,294

14 Claims.

This invention relates principally to speed regulating devices forinternal combustion engines and more particularly to governors forautomatically controlling the output of fuel pumps for such engines. Oneof the objects of the present invention is to provide a completelyenclosed, self-contained compact device of simple and economicalconstruction which will automatically control the speed of the engine atboth idling and high speeds in all throttle positions. Another object isto enable the fuel supply to be cut oil in any position of the throttleor governor. Other objects are to provide for adjusting the idling andhigh speeds of the engine and the maximum quantity of fuel delivered bythe pump and to enable such adjustments to be made outside the governorhousing. Other objects are to enable the fuel pump to operate at fullpump- .ing capacity when starting the engine and to prevent the operatorfrom overloading the engine with too much fuel when running. Theinvention consists in the governor and in the construction, combinationsand arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification andwherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a speed governor embodying my invention, the.governor being shown associated with the cam shaft and control rod ofthe fuel pump for an internal combustion engine,

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the engine opposing end of said governor,

Fig. 3 is an elevation of one side of the governor,

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the other side of said governor,

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 55 in Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a similar section on the line Fig. 2,

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section on th line l'| in Fig. 3, I

Fig. 8 is a vertical central longitudinal section through the lowerportion of the governor,

Fig. 9 is a detail view, partly in section, showing the positionsassumed by the centrifugal weightsand the sleeve actuated thereby athigh speed,

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the governor actuated yoke lever,

H in

Fig, 11 is a part sectional and part side elevational view of said yokelever,

Fig. 12 is an end view of said lever and the stop device associatedtherewith,

Fig. 13 is a side view of the helical driving gear of said governor; andr Figs. 14 and 15 are side and end views, respectively of the controlrod actuating lever.

The centrifugal speed regulating device or governor shown in theaccompanying drawings comprises a housing A having a top opening, whichis closed by a removable cover I, and axially alined openings 2 and 3 inits respective end walls, through which a drive shaft B extends. Asshown in the drawings, said drive shaft comprises a section 4 adapted tobe driven by and in unison with a compressionignition internalcombustion engine (not shown), and a section 5 that has one or more cams6 thereon for actuating the pistons of a suitable fuel pump (not shown),which is provided with a horizontally reciprocable control rod 1 forvarying the quantity of fuel supplied by said pump to the workingcylinders of said engine. As shown in the drawings the control rod Iextends into the governor housing through an opening 8 provided thereforin the pump opposing end wall of said housing.

The section 4 of the main drive shaft B is journaled in a suitableantifriction bearing 9 located in the opening 2 in the engine opposingend wall of the governor housing A; and the section 5, which forms thecam shaft of the fuel pump, extends through ,the opening 3 in the pumpopposing end wall of said housing and has a reduced end portion that isthreaded into the adjacent end of the shaft section 4. Mounted on theadjacent ends of the drive shaft sections 6 and 5 is a helical gear Ill,which is pinned to the shaft section 4 and is keyed to the shaft section5. The helical gear It drives a helical gear ii formed on a verticalshaft l2 located in the pump housing at one side of the helical gearIll. The lower end of the shaft I2 is supported in a suitableantifriction bearing l3 supported in a seat M provided therefor in thelower portion of the governor housing. 5

l The governor housing is provided at its upper end with an openingwhich is closed by a threaded cap IS. The upper end of the verticalshaft I2 is provided with a roller bearing comprising an outer bearingmember l6 seated in the cap I5, an inner bearing member I! sleeved onsaid shaft and adjustable endwise thereof by means of nuts I8 threadedon the upper end thereof, and bearing rollers I9 interposed between saidbear ing members. Sleeved'on the vertical shaft I2 between upper andlower spring seat members 20 and 2 I, respectively, are one or morecompression springs 22, hereinafter referred to as high speed springs.The lower spring seat 2| seats on an annular shoulder 23 providedtherefor on the upright shaft I2; and the upper spring seat 20 ispressed upwardly by said springs against the lower end of the innerbearing member I! of the upper bearing for said shaft and thus serves topress said inner bearing member against the lowermost of the two springadjusting nuts I8 on the upper end of said shaft.

A thrust sleeve 24 is slidably mounted on the vertical shaft I2 and isadapted to be slid upwardly on said shaft into abutting relation withthe lower spring seat 2| and against the pressure of the high speedsprings 22 by means of a pair of weighted centrifugal levers'25 that arepivotally supported one on each side of said shaft on horizontal pivots26 carried by pairs of ears or lugs 21a on the upper end of a spider 21that is pinned to said shaft justabove the helical gear II thereon. Eachof these centrifugal levers is provided at the end remote from itsweighted end with a finger 28, which is adapted to abut against thelower end of the thrust sleeve 24 and slide it upwardly on the shaft I2,and a finger 29, which is adapted to abut against the spider 21 andlimit the outward swinging movement of said weighted end of said lever.Mounted on the upper end of the thrust sleeve against movement axiallythereof is a suitable ball thrust bearing 30.

Journaled on a horizontal shaft 3| that extends from side wall to sidewall of the governor housing A, at one side of the vertical shaft I2, isa lever 32 having one arm in the form of a yoke 32a that straddles thevertically slidable' thrust sleeve 24 and thrust bearing 30 and isprovided with horizontal pins 33 that overhang and cooperate with theupper surface of said bearing. The other or depending arm 34 of the yokelever 32 extends downwardly in the housing and is pivotally connected,as at 35, at its free lower end with one end of a link 38,'whoseopposite end is pivotally connected, as at 31, to an upright lever 38intermediate between the ends thereof.

The upper end of the upright lever 38 is provided with a downwardlyopening notch 39 that straddles the adjacent end of the pump control rod1, which has. a lateral abutment member or pin 40 thereon that projectson opposite sides thereof with its ends fitting within downwardlyopening notches 4I formed in the opposite side walls of the main controlrod receiving notch 39. The lower end of the upright lever 38 fitsbetween and is pivotally connected, as at 42, to the outer ends of apair of ears or lugs 43 that project radially from a horizontal shaft44, which extends transversely of the governor housing with its endsjournaledin suitable bearings 45 provided therefor in the side walls ofsaid housing.

One end of the horizontal shaft 44 extends outside of the governorhousing A and has. a manually operable control arm 46 fixed thereto. Thecooperating portions of the shaft and arm are provided with interflttingribs and grooves 41, whereby said arm may be angularly a justed on saidshaft. The hub portion of said arm is split and provided with a clampingscrew 48 for locking said arm inthe desired position of its angularadjustment. The swinging movement of the manual control arm 46 islimited in one direction to limit the maximum feed of the pump by anadjustable stop screw 49 and in the opposite direction to control theminimum fuel feed by a similar adjustable stop screw 50. These stopslimit the operators control over the output of the fuel pump.

The pins 33 on the yoke 32a of the lever 32 are held down on the thrustbearing 30 on the vertical shaft I2 by means of a helicalcompressionspring 5I (hereinafter referred to as the idling speed spring). Thisspring is supported at its lower end on a lug or arm 52 that projectsfrom the hub of the yoke lever 32; and the upper end of said springbears against the lower end of a screw 53 that is threaded verticallythrough the cover I of the governor housing.

An adjustable stop device is provided for limiting the feed movement ofthe control rod I of the pump. Said device comprises a hook 54 pivoted,as at 55, to the lower arm of a lever 58 that is pivotally supported ona horizontal shaft '51 mounted in the governor housing just above thepump control rod I. -'I'his stop hook is held in the path of the pin 40on the control rod I by means of a coil tension spring 54a and thuslimits the feed movement of said rod.' The lever 56 may be adjusted toshift the hook lengthwise of said rod by means of an adjusting screw ,58that is threaded vertically through the housing cover I with its lowerend in abutting relation to the free upper end of the upper arm of thehook supporting lever 56. A coil compression spring 59 is mounted in theside wall of the governor housing adjacent to the hook supporting lever58 and serves to hold the upper arm thereof against the lower end of theadjusting screw 58. One branch of the yoke 32a. of the yoke lever 32 isextended to form a finger 32b adapted, when the governor is notoperating, to press down on a lug 60 on the stop hook 54 so as to swingthe same clear of the control rod pin 40 and thus permit said rod to bemoved beyond the maximum feed position established by said hook when itis in engagement with said control rod pin. The mechanism for shiftingthe control rod I in a direction that one end anchored to the governorhousing and the other end secured to said arm.

The operation of the hereinbefore described speed governor is asfollows:

When the manually operable control or throttle arm 46 is set for idlingspeed, as shown in Fig. 3, such speed is insuflicient to swing thecentrifugal levers 25 out far enough to lift said sleeve into engagementwith the lower seat 2I for the relatively strong high speed springs 22and a uniform idling speed is maintained by the relatively weak idlingspeed spring 5|; and when said control or throttle arm is set for highspeed, the greater centrifugal forceis sufficient to swing thecentrifugal levers out far enough to raise the thrust sleeve high enoughto compress the high speed springs 22 and thus bring them into operationto maintain a uniform high speed. During both idling and high speeds theidling speed spring 5| operates to hold the yoke pins 33 of the yokelever 3I down on'the thrust bearing 38 and the governor action istransmitted berection that will reduce the fuel supply when the adjustedby means of the bearing retaining nuts IS on the upper end of thevertical shaft [2. This vertical shaft, together with the parts mountedthereon, may be inserted in and removed from the governor housing Athrough the opening closed by the cover I. The high speed springs 22rotate with the vertical supporting shaft l2 therefor and thus do nottransmit any load to the ball thrust bearing 30, which takes only therelatively light load imparted thereto by the idling speed spring 5|.

The external control or throttle arm 46 is capable of manual operationindependently of the governor mechanism either when manual op-\ erationis desired or when it is desired to set the governor at idling speed orhigh spee or. any speed intermediate therebetween.

The adjustable stop hook 54 limits the maximum fuel supply for a givenspeed setting of the throttle or control arm 46 and thus prevents theoperator from overloading the engine with, too much fuel and thuscausing it to smoke. The adjusting screw 58 in the cover I of thegovernor housing allows the stop hook 54 to be set in any desiredposition to limit the maximum quantity of fuel supply. As the maximumtravel of the pump control rod during the operation of the engine doesnot provide a quantity of fuel' suflicient for starting the engine, thestop hook 54 is adapted to automatically drop clear of the pump controlrod whenever the engine is stopped. This automatic release of the stophook 54 is brought about by the pressure of the finger portion orextension 32a of one of the branches of the yoke 32 of the yoke lever 3|on the lug 60 of said stop hook when the governor is not operating andthe thrust sleeve 24 is in its lowermost position. Thus, a greaterquantity of fuel may be supplied to the engine during starting than whenthe engine isTunning. When the engine starts, the centrifugal levers 25lift the finger 32, thereby permitting the stop hook 54 to again swinginto operative position in the path of the pin 40 on the control rod I.This arrangement permits the quantity of fuel to be increased whenstarting the engine; and it also prevents the operator from overloadingthe engine and causing it to smoke while running.

The operator may stop the engine regardless of the position of thethrottle arm 46 or the operation of the governor mechanism, by movingthe stop arm 62 against the tension of the spring 63 to swing the stophook 6| into engagement with the upright lever 38 and thus shift thepump control rod in a direction that will completely shut off the fuelsupply to the engine. This stop hook 6| is normally held in inoperativeposition by the tension spring 63.

The governor is a completely enclosed, selfcontained, fully automaticunit. All forces due to the action of the centrifugal levers at allspeeds are taken in tension by the vertical shaft [2 and in compressionby the thrust sleeve 24, thereby decreasing the loads on and prolongingthe life of the bearings for said shaft. The helical drive gearingprovides for quiet operation of the governor; and all adjustments may bequickly and easily made from conveniently located points locatedexternally of the governor housing. The adjustablestops 49 and 50 forthe throttle arm 46 limit the operator to predetermine idling and highspeeds. I

What I claim is:

1. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel speed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising a thrust sleeve slidably mounted on said shaft andadapted to be slid longitudinally thereof in response to the speedthereof,a lever having one arm disposed in abutting relation to saidthrust sleeve, a spring associated with said lever for yieldablyresisting the movement imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve, a secondlever disposed alongside of said other arm of said first mentioned leverand pivotally supported at one end and connected at its other end tosaid fuel feed control member, and a cross-link connecting said otherarm of said first mentioned lever with said second lever intermediatebetween the ends of the latter.

2. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising a thrust sleeve slidably mounted on said shaft andadapted to be slid longitudinally thereof in response to the speedthereof, a lever having one arm disposed in abutting relation to saidthrust sleeve, a spring associated with said lever for yieldablyresisting the movement imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve, 9. secondlever disposed alongside of said other arm of said first mentioned leverand pivotally supported at one end, and connected at its other end tosaid fuel feed control member, a crosslink connecting said other arm ofsaid first mentioned lever with said second lever intermediate betweenthe ends of the latter, and means for shifting the supporting pivot forthe end of said second lever to cause the latter to swing about itspivotal connection with said cross-link and actuate said fuel feedcontrol member.

3. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including 'a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising a thrust sleeve slidably mounted on said shaft andadapted to be slid longitudinally thereof in response to the speedthereof, a lever having one arm disposed in abutting relation to saidthrust sleeve, a spring associated with said lever for yieldablyresisting the movement imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve, a secondspring mounted on said shaft for yieldably resisting further movement ofsaid thrust sleeve, a second lever pivotally supported at one end andconnected at its other end to saidfuel feed con trol member, a linkconnecting the other arm of said first mentioned lever with said secondlever intermediate between the ends of the latter, manually operablemeans for shifting the supporting pivot for said second lever to causethe latter to swing about its pivotal connection with's'aid link andmove said fuel feed control member, and normally disengaged meanscooperating with said second lever between its points of connection withsaid link and said fuel feed control member for swinging said secondlever about its supporting pivot in a direction that will shift thecontrol member to fuel cut-off position.

4. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising a thrust sleeve mounted on said shaft and adapted tobe shifted longitudinally thereof in response to the speed thereof, ahigh speed spring sleeved on said shaft and adapted to be compressed bythe pressure imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve, a lever having onearm adapted to be actuated by the movement of said sleeve in thedirection of said high speed spring, an idling speed spring operativelyengaging said lever for urging said arm in the direction of said thrustsleeve, said last mentioned spring being adapted to be compressed priorto said high speed spring, a second lever disposed alongside of saidother arm of said first mentioned lever and pivotally supported at oneend and operatively connected at its other end to said fuel feed controlmember, a cross-link connecting said other arm of said first mentionedlever with said second lever intermediate between the ends of thelatter, and manually operable means for moving the supporting pivot forthe end of said second lever to cause it to pivot about its point ofconnection with said cross-link.

5. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a horizontal shaft driven by said engine,said governor comprising a housing having an opening in the top thereof,a cover for said opening, a vertical shaft in said housing, gearingconnecting said shafts, centrifugal levers pivotally supported on saidvertical shaft for vertical swinging movement towards and awaytherefrom, a thrust sleeve axially slidable but nonrotatably mounted onsaid vertical shaft and adapted to be shifted vertically thereon whensaid centrifugal levers swing outwardly due to centrifugal force, alever operatively connected to said fuel feed control member and adaptedto be actuated by said thrust sleeve, an idling speed spring adapted toyieldably resist the initial movement of said thrust sleeve under theinfluence of said centrifugal levers, and a high speed spring sleeved onsaid vertical shaft and adapted to resist further movement of saidthrust sleeve, all insertable in and removable from said housing throughthe opening in the top thereof.

6. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member, means for limiting the maximum fuel feedposition of said control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally, supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleevemounted on said shaft and adapted tobe slid longitudinally thereof bythe outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a lever having one armdisposed in abutting relation to said thrust sleeve and adapted in theinoperative position thereof to render ineffective the limiting meansfor said control member, a spring associated with said lever foryieldably resisting the movement imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve,a second lever pivotally supported at one end and connected at its otherend to said fuel feed control member, and a link connecting the otherarm of said first mentioned lever with said second lever intermediatebetween the ends of the latter.

'7. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeveslidably mounted on said shaft and adapted to he slid longitudinallythereof by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a leverhaving one arm disposed in abutting relation to said thrust sleeve, arelatively weal; spring associated with said lever for yieldablyresisting the movement imparted thereto by said thrust sleeve at thebeginning of the sliding movement imparted thereto by said centrifugalweights, a relatively engines including a movable fuel feed controlmember, means for limiting the maximum fuel feed position of saidcontrol member and a shaft driven by said engine, said governorcomprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on said shaft forswinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeve slidablymounted on said shaft; and adapted to be slid longitudinally thereof bythe outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a lever having one armoperatively engaging said thrust sleeve and adapted in the inoperativeposition thereof to render ineffective the limiting means for saidcontrol member, a spring associated with said lever for yieldablyresisting the movement imparted thereto by said,

thrust sleeve, a second lever pivotally supported at one end, andconnected at its other end to said fuel feed control member, a linkconnecting the other arm of said first mentioned lever with said secondlever intermediate between the ends of the latter, and means forshifting the supporting pivot for said second lever to cause the latterto swing about its pivotal connection with said link and actuate saidfuel feed control member.

9. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeveslidably'mounted on said shaft and adapted to be slid longitudinallythereof by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a leverhaving one arm operatively engaging said thrust sleeve, a springassociated with said thrust sleeve for yieldably resisting the movementimparted thereto by said centrifugal weights, a second lever disposedalongside of said other arm of said first mentioned lever and pivotallysupported at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to saidfuel feed control member, and a cross-link connecting said other arm ofsaid first mentioned lever with said second lever intermediate betweenthe ends of the latter.

10. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeveslidably mounted on said shaft and adapted to be slid longitudinallythereof by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a leverhaving one arm operatively engaging said thrust sleeve, a springassociated with said thrust sleeve for yieldably resisting the movementimparted thereto by said centrifugal weights, a second lever disposedalongside of said other arm of said first mentioned lever and pivotallysupported at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to saidfuel feed control member, a crosslink connecting said other arm of saidfirst mentioned lever with said second lever intermediate between theends of the latter, and manually operable means for shifting thesupporting pivot for said second lever to cause the latter to swingabout its pivotal connection with said cross-link and move said fuelfeed control member.

11. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeveslidably mounted on said shaft and adapted to he slid longitudinallythereof by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a leverhaving one arm operatively engaging said thrust sleeve, a springassociated with said thrust sleeve for yieldably resisting the movementimparted thereto by said centrifugal weights, a second lever pivotallysupported at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to saidfuel feed control member, a link connecting the other arm of said firstmentioned lever with said second lever intermediate between the ends ofthe latter, manually operable means for shifting the supporting pivotfor said second lever to cause the latter to swing about its pivotalconnection with said link and move said fuel feed control member, stopscooperating with said manually operable means for limiting such movementof said control member, and manually operable means cooperating withsaid second lever for swinging the latter about said supporting pivot ina direction that will move said control member beyond the limitestablished by one of said stops.

12. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovemorcomprising an upright-shaft, centrifugal levers pivotally mounted onsaid upright shaft for swinging movement toward and away therefrom, athrust sleeve mounted on said upright shaft and adapted to be shiftedupwardly thereon by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, athrust bearing mounted on said thrust sleeve, a high speed springsleeved on said upright shaft and adapted to be compressed by thepressure imparted thereto by said thrust bearing, a lever having one armadapted to be actuated by the movement of said thrust bearing in thedirection of said high speed spring, an idling speed spring operativelyengaging said lever for urging said arm in the, direction of said thrustbearing, said last mentioned spring being adapted to be compressed priorto said high speed spring, a second lever pivotally supported at one endand adapted to be operatively connected at its other endto said fuelfeed control member, said first mentioned lever having a second arm, alink connecting said second arm with said second lever intermediatebetween the ends of the latter, and manually operable means for movingthe supporting pivot of said second lever to cause it to pivot about itspoint of connection with said link and actuate said fuel feed controlmember.

13. A speed governor for internal combustion engines including a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising centrifugal weights pivotally supported on saidshaft for swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeveslidably mounted on said shaft and adapted to be slid longitudinallythereof by the outward movement of said centrifugal levers, a thrustbearing on said sleeve, a bent lever having a yoke arm operativelyengaging said thrust bearing, means for yieldably resisting the movementimparted to said thrust sleeve by said weights, a second lever disposedalongside of the other arm of said bent lever and pivotally supported atone end and connected at its other end to said fuel feed control member,a cross-link connecting said other arm of said bent lever with saidsecond lever intermediate between the ends of the latter, and manuallyoperable means for shifting the supporting pivot for said second lever.

14. A speed governor for an internal combustion engine having a movablefuel feed control member and a shaft driven by said engine, saidgovernor comprising a housing having an opening in the top thereof, acover for said opening, a vertical shaft in said housing with its lowerend journaled therein and with its upper end journaled in said cover,said vertical shaft being adapted to be driven by said engine drivenshaft, centrifugal levers pivotally supported on said vertical shaft forvertical swinging movement towards and away therefrom, a thrust sleeverotatable with said vertical shaft and slidable axially thereof by theaction of said centrifugal levers, a lever adapted to be connected tosaid fuel feed control member and operatively engaging said thrustsleeve to be actuated thereby, an idling speed spring adapted toyieldably resist the initial movement of said thrust sleeve under theinfluence of said centrifugal levers, and a high speed spring sleeved onsaid vertical shaft and adapted to resist further movement of saidthrust sleeve, said vertical shaft, levers, thrust sleeve and springsbeing all insertable in and removable from said housing through theopening in the top thereof. i

ALDEN P. THOMAS.

